Pelosi: No Public Option, No Bill

[Faeelin]

And Obama's Death Spiral accelerates....

As the White House signals that it is willing to move forward on a health reform plan without a public option, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent a strong message Thursday evening: not so fast.


In her strongest statement yet, Pelosi said that any bill "without a strong public option will not pass the House":


"Any real change requires the inclusion of a strong public option to promote competition and bring down costs," Pelosi said. "If a vigorous public option is not included, it would be a major victory for the health insurance industry."


Pelosi's remarks come less than one week before President Barack Obama delivers an address to a joint session of Congress as part of a re-launched campaign effort to sell his health care reform bill to both lawmakers and the public. White House aides have said the president will use the speech to offer more detail than he has so far about what sort of bill he'd like to reach his desk.


"President Obama has said that a public option will keep the insurance companies honest. If someone has a better idea for promoting competition and reducing health care costs, they should put it on the table," Pelosi said. "But for the past month, opponents of health insurance reform have demonstrated that they are afraid of the facts. They have only offered distortions, distractions and misrepresentations to try to kill this historic legislation."

"A bill without a strong public option will not pass the House," Pelosi said. "Eliminating the public option would be a major victory for the insurance companies who have rationed care, increased premiums and denied coverage."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/26742.html

[Caliga]

So who's gonna be elected POTUS in 2012?  Romney?  Jindal?  Pawlenty? 

[Faeelin]

So who's gonna be elected POTUS in 2012?  Romney?  Jindal?  Pawlenty? 

I can go with Pawlenty, and would probably take Romney over Obama at this point.

[Berkut]

The sad thing is that she is probably right - reform without the public option is likely not worth the trouble.

Of course, reform with it is probably not possible.

[DGuller]

I'm glad somebody on the Dem side is sticking to the guns.  Not that I entirely agree with the particular part of this particular issue, but in general having Obama continue to compromise without getting anything at all in return is getting a bit tiresome.  Somebody needs to wear the pants in that party.

[KRonn]

I'm glad somebody on the Dem side is sticking to the guns.  Not that I entirely agree with the particular part of this particular issue, but in general having Obama continue to compromise without getting anything at all in return is getting a bit tiresome.  Somebody needs to wear the pants in that party.

Well, I'd have to say that I hope it isn't Pelosi and her types who are the ones to call the shots then. That wouldn't bode well for Obama either. Of course, he's in a tough spot, having to please/disappoint the more left wing base, or please/disappoint the larger group of Independents/moderates, etc.

[DGuller]

Well, I'd have to say that I hope it isn't Pelosi and her types who are the ones to call the shots then. That wouldn't bode well for Obama either. Of course, he's in a tough spot, having to please/disappoint the more left wing base, or please/disappoint the larger group of Independents/moderates, etc.

I don't think anybody is going to call the shots, that's what compromises are for.  However, to compromise, you need to get something in return, and that's where Obama fails.

[Warspite]

Why wait till 2012. Does Obama have any property dealings that could be investigated by some sort of committee?

[Barrister]

Why wait till 2012. Does Obama have any property dealings that could be investigated by some sort of committee?

So you're also getting a strong 1993 vibe from this, huh.

[Warspite]

Why wait till 2012. Does Obama have any property dealings that could be investigated by some sort of committee?

So you're also getting a strong 1993 vibe from this, huh.

What are you, a lawyer? I just wanted to make a throw-away quip.

[garbon]

I'm glad somebody on the Dem side is sticking to the guns.  Not that I entirely agree with the particular part of this particular issue, but in general having Obama continue to compromise without getting anything at all in return is getting a bit tiresome.  Somebody needs to wear the pants in that party.

Well, duh. Pelosi doesn't have "compromise" in her vocabulary.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I'm glad somebody on the Dem side is sticking to the guns.  Not that I entirely agree with the particular part of this particular issue, but in general having Obama continue to compromise without getting anything at all in return is getting a bit tiresome.  Somebody needs to wear the pants in that party.

Well, I'd have to say that I hope it isn't Pelosi and her types who are the ones to call the shots then. That wouldn't bode well for Obama either. Of course, he's in a tough spot, having to please/disappoint the more left wing base, or please/disappoint the larger group of Independents/moderates, etc.

The independent/moderate faction is the more important of the two.  The American left has marginalized itself as though their collective lives have depended on it.  He should be more concerned about keeping the Blue Dogs and winning the general elections. 

[alfred russel]

The sad thing is that she is probably right - reform without the public option is likely not worth the trouble.

Of course, reform with it is probably not possible.

Totally disagree--many of the most important aspects of reform (near universal coverage and access to primary care, keeping health care coverage possible and affordable for people with preexisting conditions/bad medical histories) can all be done without a public option.

[DGuller]

Could Obama and Pelosi be playing a good cop, bad cop game?  That would be too clever by Democrats, but stanger things have happened.

[DontSayBanana]

I'm not sure. Obama's clever enough to engineer the scenario, but I'm not sure Pelosi's clever enough to realize the value of going along with it.